48...Bd7! [Giving check with the rook only helps White: 48...Ra1+?! 49.Ke2 Bd7 50.Rxd7+ Nxd7 51.Rg7 b5 52.Rxd7+ Kc6 53.Re7 Kd6 54.Rb7 Kc6=]

49.Nxd7 [49.Rxd7+?? Nxd7 50.Rg7 Rd3–+]

49...Nxd7? [In the critical moment, Black misses a strong tactical move.]

[49...Nc6! 50.Ne5 (50.Rdf8 Kxd7 51.Rxg6 c3 52.Ke2 b5 53.Rgf6 b4–+) 50...Ra1+ 51.Kf2 Nxe5 52.Rc8+ Kb6µ]

50.Rc8+ Kd6 51.Rxc4 Ra1+ 52.Kg2 Ra2+ 53.Kg3 Ra3+ 54.Kf4²

1–0

⚪️#158 (Strategy-White to Move)
🔸Caruana,F (2828)
🔸Harikrishna,P (2726)
🔸Champions Showdown Rapid Saint Louis USA 2019

25.Qe2?! [A carelessness.]

[25.Ng3! would be correct, in order to prevent Black from playing ...f5 and ...e4. 25...g6 (25...Qc7 26.Rhf1 h4 27.Nf5 Bf6 28.Qd2± the black king would be stuck in the center because castling on the kingside is very dangerous.) 26.f5±]

25...f5 26.Nf2 e4 27.g3 Bf6 28.h3 Nb6=

1–0

⚪️#158 (Endgame-White to Move)
🔸Topalov,V (2740)
🔸Dominguez Perez,L (2739)
🔸Champions Showdown Rapid Saint Louis USA 2019

63.Kh3? [63.Kh4! Ra1 64.g4+ Kf4 65.Rf6+ Ke5 66.Rf5+ Ke6 67.h6 Rd7 68.Kg5+–; 63.Kh2 Ra7 64.Bb7 Kg5 65.Rh8 R7xa6 66.Bxa6 Rxa6=]

63...Ra1 64.Kh2 [64.g4+ Kg5 65.Rd6 Ra3 66.Kg3 Rg8 67.Rb6 Ra5= 68.Bd1 Rg7=]

64...Kg5 65.Rb6 Ra5 66.Rb7 Kh6 67.Be2 Rg8 68.Kh3 Re8 69.Rb6+ Kg5 70.Bf3 Rg8 71.Rd6 Ra4 72.Kh2 Ra3 73.Kg3 Ra5 74.Kf2 Ra3=

½–½

⚫️#159 (Strategy-Black to Move)
🔸Dominguez Perez,L (2739)
🔸Topalov,V (2740)
🔸Champions Showdown Rapid Saint Louis USA 2019

Unity Chess Strategy Multiple Choice 159
public poll

B) B×c4 – 11
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 85%
@mahyarebrahimi1983, Gavin, Nikhil, @Steve1234567890qwerty, @A_Somewhat_Cool_Guy, Srikar, @AryanLeekha, @arash22_d, Vedant, Hansika, Pranav

C) Bd5 – 2
👍 15%
@batonik107, Abhi

A) h5
▫️ 0%

👥 13 people voted so far.

⚫️#159 (Endgame-Black to Move)
🔸Dominguez Perez,L (2739)
🔸Topalov,V (2740)
🔸Champions Showdown Rapid Saint Louis USA 2019

Unity Chess Endgame Multiple Choice 159
public poll

A) Rc1 – 17
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 100%
farhad, @mahyarebrahimi1983, Masoud, Gavin, Nikhil, @A_Wild_Richard, Srikar, @AryanLeekha, Atharva, @arash22_d, Vedant, Hansika, Pranav, Pravin, Daniel, Abhi, Mohan

B) Kc6
▫️ 0%

C) Rh1
▫️ 0%

👥 17 people voted so far.

Moscow, 6th September 1940. The encounter between Mikhail Botvinnik (Leningrad) and Isaac Boleslavsky (Dnepropetrovsk) in the 2nd round of the 12th USSR Championship, which was held in the Grand Hall of the Conservatory.

@UnityChess

Mikhail Botvinnik 🆚 Isaac Boleslavsky
USSR Championship (1940), Moscow URS, rd 2, Sep-06
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation. Classical Fianchetto (E67)

1-0

@UnityChess

“Play the game for more than you can afford to lose... only then will you learn the game.”

🔸 Winston Churchill

@UnityChess

Winston Churchill (1874-1965). He won the 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature. He served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, and from 1951 to 1955.He was taught chess by his father, Lord Randolph Churchill (1849-1895), who was vice-president of the British Chess Association.

@UnityChess

Amsterdam, 4th September 1954. The 11th Olympiad, Preliminary Group 'C', Round 1; the match Denmark v. Norway. On top board, Bent Larsen (DEN) faces Aage Vestøl (NOR).

@UnityChess

The #WTCC2019 2nd round sees only one draw in 5 matches, India 2-2 Iran.
Congratulations to teams #Kazakhstan, #USA, #England, and #Russia on their 2nd-round victories.